Re: Difficulty using M-x gdb

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Michael Welsh Duggan <mwd@md5i.com>
> Date: Wed, 01 Feb 2023 09:53:05 -0500
> 
> When I step through a program, the interface keeps track of where I am
> in the source buffer.  But, when the program produces output, it
> replaces the source buffer window with an input/output buffer window
> which is dedicated.  The only way I have found out to display the source
> buffer again is to use "M-x gdb-restore-windows".  In code that is doing
> a fair amount of output, this is very tedious.
> 
> What is right way to handle this?

Try "M-x gdb-display-io-buffer RET".  (You can also activate that
window (or any other gdb-mi window) via the menu bar's
Gud->GDB-Windows menu.)

> If it requires customization, why is
> customization needed to make this fairly common case work well?

Not every program communicates via stdin/stdout, and when a program
doesn't, popping up another window would be a nuisance, I think.

> Maybe most importantly, this input/output buffer/window doesn't seem
> to be mentioned in the Emacs documentation at all.

It is mentioned, but maybe not prominently enough.  Patches welcome,
or I will get to adding that soon.

> I have my suspicions that, once I get used to the new interface, I might
> like using it, but right now I'm having difficulty figuring out what
> habits I need to relearn.

My suggestion is to start with gdb-many-windows, and then close those
windows you don't need.